Paresthesias multiple sclerosis is one of the more common symptoms of this degenerative disease, affecting the majority of Ms patients. Multiple sclerosis is a debilitating disease affecting the bran and spinal cord, resulting in loss of muscle control, eyesight, balance, and sensation. Over time, the nerves of the brain and spinal cord are irreparably damaged, thus MS referred to as an autoimmune disease. The central nervous system houses the body’s response team, or the nerves that act as a relay system controlling body and organ function, such as walking, talking, and other motor skills.

Paresthesias refers to tingling and is one of the multiple sclerosis symptoms that patients seek help for. There characteristics of paresthesia are numbness, burning, severe itchiness, and buzzing, vibrating sensations. Fairly common, 90% of people with MS report having these symptoms. These symptoms are because of damaged sensory nerves, where it feels as if the areas have been burned or there is a reduction in intensity to the touch. The most common types of sensory nerves can pick up pain, pressure, soft touch, hot, cold, and vibration, but there are even more types, and in addition there are the sense of smell, sight, taste, hearing, and touch which can also be affected by MS.

Nerves can be affected in two ways. The received error message can be either positive or negative. In a positive error message the signal may send too much signal when there is no reason for pain, sending the signal all the time instead of just when stimulated. In a negative error message, the nerve may fail to send any signals or one that is so reduced that the lines are ‘crossed’.

Paresthesias is caused by lesions on the brain or spinal cord. They can be a result of touch or occur spontaneously. It has been reported that these lesions are brought about in part of because of a pseudoexacerbation, which is an increase in symptoms caused by some external factor, usually heat intolerance or MS fatigue. Paresthesias occurs everywhere on the body, interrupting motor movements, causing shaking of the hands and feet, increasing sexual dysfunction, and problems with speech because of dysarithria. In many instances, the progression travels closer to the arms and legs.

The question of whether or not the symptoms remain or end varies from patient to patient. If it happens part of a MS relapse, the issue is not able to be resolved completely. In a little less than half of all MS sufferers, paresthesias remains in the bottom when all other symptoms leave. Those that are prescribed high dosage of corticosteroids are more likely to reduce their relapse duration, bringing relief to constant numbness and tingling.

In benign cases of paresthesias, there is no significant disability and it is not indicated that the disease is getting worse. People diagnoses with benign cases still have normal movement and coordination. The disease can be extremely transient lasting over a long period of time. The pain associated with paresthesias can be extremely unpredictable, lasting for short periods or over the span of a great length of time. The sensations associated with the disease can vary in intensity. In short, everyone suffering from paresthesias will have their own unique set of problems to address.

Patients that suffer from paresthesias multiple sclerosis claim to have more difficulty sleeping at night than any other time. Patients are advised to cool their bedroom, towels, and pillow in their bedroom to ensure their sleeping patterns remain normal. For patients who still cannot sleep well, doctors can prescribe a sleeping pill to aid in development.

Allodynia is another symptom of paresthesias, which is stimulus dependent and lasts as long as the stimulus is present in the body. Luckily, Allodynia is not a long-term problem, with patients reporting it out of their system fairly shortly.